How THIS Wrestler Has Become WWE's Most Valuable Player In 2020

Each member of The Hurt Business is stronger today than they were six months ago, MVP included.

Signed on the back of a pulsing Cruiserweight Classic match against Kota Ibushi in 2016, Cedric Alexander had struggled for traction outwith the 205-pound division. WWE made a spectacular mess of his last attempted elevation: the Gary 'The GOAT' Garbutt angle was one of 2019's worst and though Alexander feuded with United States Champion AJ Styles, he was never going to win the belt. His character? Non-existent.

Alexander now has purpose, motives, and direction. This doesn't mean he's going to be working World Title programs in a couple of months, but this is a whole lot more than he had before, particularly when 2 Fly Crew spluttered without ever leaving the airstrip.

Shelton Benjamin was another forgotten man before all this, working almost exclusively on Main Event. Bobby Lashley was on television most weeks, but emerging from the heat-killing Lana/Rusev/Liv Morgan storyline, from which MVP mercifully saved him. Now, Lashley is back to his best. The days of chuckling meekly as Sami Zayn paraded men in drag as his sisters are gone: Bobby is a 'Dominator' once more, pushed as a wrecking ball rather than a homewrecker.

And again, these men are skilled, talented individuals who absolutely could have hit these levels if WWE was a true meritocracy (Lashley has been particularly underutilized since returning), but MVP talking them up, building chemistry with them, and representing them as The Hurt Business' leader has been the difference-maker.

Let's hope it continues...

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